


The Living Dead Fill Every Room

by Inkyrius



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Drabble Sequence, During Canon, Gen, Ghosts, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-05 20:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15178913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkyrius/pseuds/Inkyrius
Summary: Their numbers are dwindling, but from Sonia's perspective, no one is really gone.





	The Living Dead Fill Every Room

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mornelithe_falconsbane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mornelithe_falconsbane/gifts).



Sonia considered herself a connoisseur of the occult. She could describe seances and summoning rituals from more than thirteen traditions.

She still wasn’t prepared for her first encounter with a ghost.

The trial grounds had sixteen stands, and all sixteen were occupied. Byakuya stood in front of his portrait, arms crossed as they so often were in life. They didn’t quite hide the wounds on his chest.

Sonia struggled to maintain her composure. A princess of Novoselic could not allow herself to be unsettled by violence.

She caught Byakuya’s eye and nodded slightly. She would ensure that he was avenged.

* * *

The morning after the trial, Teruteru was back in the kitchen. He seemed more burn than skin. Only the fact that he was wearing his hat kept him recognizable.

Seeing him was enough to put Sonia off her breakfast. She shoved it in his direction instead, and was a little surprised when she looked back to find the food gone. She screwed up her courage to look back at his face, and found that he was smiling.

She couldn’t help but smile back.

She was considerably less amused when he appeared in her cottage that night to watch her change.

* * *

Mahiru spent her entire trial glaring at Fuyuhiko. Sonia had thought that would make things easier, would give them an immediate suspect. All she needed to do was gently direct suspicion to him.

The facts of the case proved otherwise. At least Mahiru was kind enough to keep her wound facing the wall.

Still, Sonia couldn’t help but watch her, trying to figure out what had her so agitated. Mahiru’s lips kept moving, though not even Sonia could hear her.

She was so distracted by Mahiru’s fury, she didn’t notice the flaw in Peko’s declarations until it was too late.

* * *

Sonia was tempted to ignore Peko’s ghost. Peko had lied to them all, had thought nothing of betraying them, and she didn’t deserve forgiveness.

But Sonia understood duty and birthright better than anyone else on the island. She couldn’t fault Peko her loyalty, no matter how much she’d have liked to. Instead, she offered what little comfort she could. She could almost believe that this was a new start for them both. They could become friends for real.

Then Fuyuhiko returned, and Peko refused to leave his side. Sonia told herself she didn’t mind. It was only to be expected.

* * *

At first, Sonia couldn’t tell if Ibuki was still feeling the influence of the Despair Disease. It wouldn’t make sense for the symptoms to continue after death, but nothing else about the disease had made sense either. And Ibuki hadn’t even tried to speak to any of her classmates. She spent the whole investigation staring into space. It was unnerving.

It wasn’t until Sonia saw the angry red marks on Ibuki’s neck that she understood.

Sonia wanted to reassure her, as she had the others, but Ibuki refused to meet her eyes. Her gaze was trained firmly on the ceiling.

* * *

Unlike Ibuki, Hiyoko was livid. She spent the trial flitting from person to person, looking for a way to vent her rage. She didn’t seem to know who killed her, though, instead directing her fury toward whoever came under the class’s suspicion. Neither the tears in her eyes nor the drops of blood at her throat fell.

The other ghosts stayed at their stands, impassive. Not even Mahiru reacted to Hiyoko’s desperate search.

It occurred to Sonia for the first time that the dead might not have been able to see each other. That she might be their only witness.

* * *

After her trial, Mikan came to breakfast with the others like nothing had happened. Sonia could almost believe that she’d imagined her breakdown. Surely sweet innocent Mikan couldn’t have sounded that empty.

Then she shoved Nagito’s face into his cereal.

Nagito’s sheer disbelief was enough to make Sonia giggle. Even the assembly of ghosts seemed amused. Mikan looked far too pleased with herself.

It was less funny the next three times.

Sonia tried to communicate her displeasure without getting the others’ attention, but Mikan just rolled her eyes. Then she left the room.

Sonia would take it as a victory.

* * *

Sonia was almost disappointed that Nidai didn’t return as a robot. It was hard to remain scared of the horrors she saw every day, and a ghost robot would be like the plot of her third-favorite anime.

The torn metal would also be a nice change of pace from burnt and twisted flesh, but at this point, that was a secondary concern.

At least he didn’t seem to need her support. For someone who had been murdered, he seemed strangely cheerful. It was just as well. Between the starvation and the trial, Sonia wouldn’t have had the energy to spare.

* * *

Seeing Gundham without his hamsters was almost worse than seeing him trampled and bruised. His laugh was silent, now, when it should have rung out loudly. Sonia was keenly aware of his absence, though he was standing beside her.

She was so very tired of losing people she cared about.

But she couldn’t show weakness. She had people counting on her, living and dead both, and she needed to be there to support them. They would make it off the island. She would see that everyone received the proper rites.

She just had to be strong for a little longer.

* * *

Nagito didn’t have a ghost.

Sonia didn’t think twice about it, not when all the others were right in front of her, whole and healthy. She never considered that someone was missing.

Then they went into the Ruin, and the ghosts vanished altogether. There was no trace of even the pale specters she was accustomed to.

She didn’t see them again until the very end, when all hope seemed lost. They gave back all the resolve she’d lent them over the past weeks. Standing together, they seemed more alive than ever before.

She opened her eyes. Her decision was clear.


End file.
